Drafting Specifications and Scopes of Supply: Strong Legal Foundations Lead to Commercial Success In-house Training

Course overview

Mastering the drafting of specifications and scopes of supply is a crucial skill in today’s high-stakes commercial landscape. These are far more than just technical documents – they are a critical legal and strategic tool. Poorly written specifications can result in delays, disputes and project failures. Well-crafted ones build clarity, manage risk and enable project completion - on time, meeting quality standards required and on budget.

This must-attend one-day course has been expertly designed to equip commercial and contract professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to engage with and support technical and operational colleagues in the drafting, evaluation and management of specifications.

Whether you’re developing a scope of supply to incorporate into a RFQ, or responding to a buyer’s request, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to ensure aspirations are converted into legal obligations, ambiguity into clarity and alignment of terminology, obligations and liabilities amongst all legal documents making up the entire agreement. This will protect your organisation and enhance harmonious relationships between contracting parties by providing a consensus of understanding and certainty.

You’ll explore:

• The legal foundations from the starting point of statute
• How to use express terms in your specifications to override implied terms to give project specific clarity
•  The strategic and practical role of the specification in managing performance, obligations and outcomes
• The legal implications between a performance specification versus a conformance specification
• How to extract essential details from technical teams and translate them into enforceable language
• The interdependency of the contracting relationship and framing your scope to enable project continuity when challenges/ risks arise
• Replacing litigation and solely monetary compensation with practical remedies and avoiding the need to terminate
• How to create a teamwork approach to identifying and realising opportunities for innovation and efficiencies

Led by an expert in commercial contracts, this course provides practical tools, proven techniques, and real-world examples. You’ll learn how to ask the right questions, communicate and work effectively in a cross-functional team, and ensure your contracts support - not undermine - your project delivery.

This course is part of our Commercial Management training courses series which aims to help individuals gain confidence in a range of areas surrounding contract law, and broader business management knowledge.

Benefits of attending

By attending this course, you will:

• Get to grips with the link between the specification and all the other contracting documents – Appreciate the importance of cross-checking for contradictions/ inconsistencies
• Recognise the power of express terms - Learn how explicit contractual language can protect your organisation and reduce reliance on uncertain implied obligations
• Distinguish between levels of commitment - Gain confidence in interpreting and applying standards like best endeavours vs reasonable endeavours to reflect realistic expectations
• Promote good governance in supply chain relationships - Understand how well-drafted specifications support transparency, accountability and performance across supplier networks
• Strengthen your risk management skills - Learn how effective specifications help identify, allocate and mitigate risks before they escalate into disputes or project delays
• Achieve better value for money - Discover how precise drafting leads to cost efficiency, reduced contingency pricing and improved commercial outcomes.

Who should attend?

This course has been specifically designed for:

• Contract and commercial managers and engineers
• Contract administrators, officers and specialists
• Specification engineers
• Supply chain engineers
• Quality assurance engineers
• Project and procurement managers
• Operations managers
• Business development managers